Jurowski: Macmillan Concerto Premiere and Mahler Symph. No. 6., RFH

As Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra since 2007, Vladimir Jurowski has been setting pulses racing on the south side of the Thames for years. Long enough in fact, that the tickets virtually sell themselves each time his name appears on the programme sheet. As well as being a brilliantly sensitive and versatile conductor, Jurowski is an immensely engaging public speaker. The colourful descriptions and anecdotes that precede his performances brim with such a genuine passion for the repertoire that one can feel the collective excitement building in the concert hall before a single note is sounded.

In this unsurprisingly ambitious programme, Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra take on Mahler’s ‘Tragic’ Sixth Symphony alongside the world-première of a viola concerto by Scottish composer James Macmillan. Mahler never officially ascribed the nickname ‘Tragic’ to the Sixth Symphony himself, and its validity is therefore questioned to this day. One would be hard-pressed, however, to find a word more appropriate for its fourth and final movement, and we cannot wait to see Jurowski get his teeth into the harrowing orchestral swells and (literal) hammer-blows that pull the movement towards its heartbreaking conclusion.

MacMillan, too, established himself as a composer who is no stranger to sorrow when his Requiem for the executed “witch”, Isobel Gowdie, was premièred to tremendous acclaim at the BBC Proms in 1990. Since this breakthrough, a strong and personal Catholic thread has emerged in MacMillan’s output - something that the composer has always aimed to communicate with the utmost depth and sincerity. As a first-time interpreter of works by a number of living British composers and a member of the Nash Ensemble, Lawrence Power is the perfect choice to lead the world première of MacMillan’s Viola Concerto.

This programme will certainly be a weighty and profound experience, and spiritual yearning isn’t a particularly good ice-breaker, so we wouldn’t advise heading straight out for cocktails afterwards. Instead, set aside an entire evening for the music to sink in, because there is no doubt that you will continue thinking about it for days afterwards.

Make it there for 6 15pm and hear James MacMillan discuss his concerto, for free.